To Canberra

It was another 3 days before we made the call. We climbed out of Kangaroo Valley towards Moss Vale in the rain, it was cold. Again some 20˚C difference within 24 hours. We stayed in a motel in Moss Vale and rode on to Goulburn the next day. We had coffee after 15 k in Ye Old Bike Shoppe, an old café/bikeshop in Bundanoon. Beautiful and easy riding, but for the last 30 k, which we rode on the Hume Highway under very hot temperatures again. That day we rode 87 k, including the shopping ride to the centre and back. Enough. The next day was extremely hot again, and we finished the 75 k to Bungendore in the early afternoon. There was one service station, Tarago, in the middle, for the rest there was nothing than dry-brown paddocks and in the end a range to be crossed, over 800 altitude.

Bungendore is an old little town with an old little railway station, some crafts shops and two pubs, in one of which we stayed, The Royal Hotel. Really vintage. Old and a bit shabby, but very nice. Not everything worked as it should, the carpets had holes here and there, but the beer was cold and the restaurant, The Royal Chinese, was run by a Chinese couple and served the food that you would expect from such a couple, Chinese, taste- and plentiful.

We rested well in this place and the next morning at 07.30 Jeff and Gerda arrived by train with their BikeFridays and picked us up for a 56 k ride to their home in Canberra.